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COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS — Police were looking for a man Monday who they said followed a woman through an apartment complex while performing a lewd act, as the victim in the case said she was terrified by the encounter.
The woman, who asked not to be identified because of safety concerns following the incident, said the man had initially “eyed” her as she drove into the Pinnacle Highland Apartments, 7673 S. Highland Dr., on Sunday afternoon to go to a friend’s barbecue.
“I looked back at him, so our uncomfortable eye contact would make him stop staring at me,” the woman said. “I got out of my car and walked across the street and went up the stairs, and as I got to the top of the stairs I heard a sound behind me, and I turned to walk up the other set of stairs and just saw him staring back at me from the bottom of the stairs.”
The woman said the unknown man was staring her down while performing a lewd act.
“His eyes were so blank, it was terrifying,” she recalled. “He just looked right at me as I was horrified and I dropped my things and ran up the stairs.”
The woman said she didn’t know what the man was going to do next.
“I was scared he was going to chase me — I didn’t know what he was capable of,” she explained.
Surveillance video obtained by KSL Monday showed the man running away, after he had followed the woman across the parking lot. The video captured a clear image of the man, who appears to have a medium build, may be balding and is seen wearing dark shorts, dark shoes and a light T-shirt.
“We do want to find out who the individual is, who the suspect is,” said Cottonwood Heights Police Sgt. Ryan Shosted. “Somebody who’s willing to victimize somebody like this — it’s just despicable and inappropriate behavior.”
Shosted said because of how the man acted, it is possible this was neither a first-of-its-kind act nor the last, and he asked anybody who believes they know or believes they had encountered the man to call Cottonwood Heights police at 801-840-4000.
The woman told KSL she is shaken by what happened, and will have a hard time forgetting the man’s face.
“(He) just looks like a normal, average person and, you know, could be sitting down to dinner with his family right now, and this is what he’s hiding, and it’s terrifying — I was terrified,” she said. “Someone that’s capable of something like that — who knows what else they’re capable of doing!”
